Think of how you approached acting when you first started out. You're a bit better now, right? What if, going into those first roles, you knew everything you know now?
What about how you approach your auditions? If I could download my perspective and my experience into your head, then you would have a very specific reference for tackling the audition from a vantage point of greater clarity.
It's not that I'm any smarter than you. It's that my perspective is different; it's broader. It's as if you are at ground level, and I am on a tower, able to see farther, able to see more because of my perspective. (I'm not trying to say I'm "higher" than you...just trying to find the right analogy to let you know that I can help you see things differently in a way that will heighten the impact of your audition.)
Here are the things I see OVER AND OVER AGAIN at auditions. You don't need any more training to take care of these -- just a greater understanding. It's very simple.
UNDERSTAND THIS...
There are VERY FINE actors out there who simply don't audition well. They just lack SIMPLE UNDERSTANDING that, if applied, can literally MAKE ALL THE DIFFERENCE.
Here are...
** 5 Ways to Stand Out at Auditions **
By making the following subtle changes to the way you audition, you DRAMATICALLY increase your chances of being cast.
- ACT AS IF... Aside from completely knowing your audition pieces, the way to LOOK confident is to BE confident. Plug into your acting capabilities in order to get above the nervousness: You are playing a character who is very much like you who is not at all fearful of the audition; in fact, she loves it! Rehearse as this "character" who is prepping for the audition... then go in as that "character." You'll be surprised at how this approach can result in greater confidence.
- As you come into the audition area, SIZE UP THE SPACE so you'll know where to stand, where to place the chair, or whether you'll have to put the chair, etc. You should have already made decisions about whether your glasses should be on or off; your hair should be out of your face, etc.
- SAVE YOUR NAME. Get your music to the accompanist (if necessary), then do whatever you have to do to set up the space (efficiently and without apology,) THEN get in place, STOP, LOOK at the casting personnel while smiling, and speak your intro: "Hi, I'm First Name, Last Name, and I'm going to do Character Name from Name of Play, and Other Character Name from Other Play, and I'll be singing That Song from That Musical." Say your name clearly, especially if your name is even moderately difficult or "different."
- AVOID THE EXHALE. Many times, actors expel an enormous breath just before they begin in an unconscious attempt to dump some anxiety. Instead, practice INHALING. This sets an air of expectation and compels the casting director to look at you. Make sure it is the CHARACTER inhaling in preparation to speak, not YOU as the actor. (By the way, I'm not talking about a big dramatic intake of breath. In fact, it might be more subliminal rather than visible to the casting folk.)
- SAVE THE LAST MOMENT. When you finish the last word and/or action of the last piece, PAUSE... Let the moment resonate. If you have 2 monologues and a song, you'll want to do this at the end of every piece. SO DISAPPOINTING when actors finish the last word and/or action, then skip right to the next piece. Failure to take the moment is a way of apologizing for your work. It indicates lack of confidence.
Take care of THESE 5 THINGS and you will improve your odds so much.
Here's to You Empowerment!
--Tom
Copyright (c) 2009, 2014 Tom Brooks. All Rights Reserved.
